Island Getaway in Costa Rica

 

Bus transportation from San Jose to the port.

Hot typical breakfast served on a private dock before cruising on the Calypso catamaran Manta Raya.

Cruise includes snorkeling and banana boat ride once arriving at Tortuga Island and after cruising through the Gulf of Nicoya past Cedros and Jesusita.

Fresh fruits and fruit drinks provided all day.

Gourmet lunch prepared on site.

Live music.

Perfect sandy beach.

Wild pigs.

Did I mentioned this island is undeveloped and environmentally protected?

YES!  Yes! Yes! We were in!

Our bus picked us up not long after 6:00 AM on our last free day in San Jose. It took more than an hour to arrive at the port. Our breakfast there was good; the background music of this trio was the kickoff for island excitement.

And then it was time to board. Good thing Wes was wearing his party shirt!

There were about 55 passengers from all over the world as fellow cruisers. We were probably the least tanned in the group.

The crew was busy. The fresh fruits/drinks were plentiful and delicious!

We enjoyed sitting by Captain Milton in a shaded area on the top of the ship.

We cruised close to two hours; perfect day out.

Our island came into view. Wow. Just wow.

And it was time to discover more about this tropical paradise.

We said hello to the white sand, perfect water, shelter area...and wild pigs! (Too fast to snap a pic for me, sadly!)

Just a short time to settle in before our snorkel adventure. Small red boats picked us up to take us out to a docking/diving area to check out the underwater life by rocky little islands.

The above and below pictures are from Calypso's web page - my camera stayed behind here.

The fish were right there; water a bit cloudy.

Then back for the delicious lunch back on the island.

The flowers served on the platter became our "Island Girls" look.

Love these ladies! Front row: Pier, Zofia. Second row: Fran, me, Rhiannon.

The lunch was served on tables covered with white linens, beach umbrellas and billowing parachute circles overhead.! We enjoyed beach time after that and soon got the call to come for our banana boat ride. It was something we'd never done before and we managed to get thoroughly soaked but not capsized.

Again, their photo.  There was a crew photographer the whole time...so this is how the glitterati live?!?!!

Time passed quickly - and this was one of the loveliest travel experiences I'd ever had.  Time to board and take the sunset cruise back to the port.

Perfect end to a perfect day.  I hope someday to go back!

(Apologies for the use of the word perfect multiple times. No other word would do.)